Rotating roller machine



Dec. 7, 1965 A. T. ERICKSON 3,221,619

ROTATING ROLLER MACHINE Filed Sept. 2, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

ARNEL T. ERICKSON ATTORNEYS Dec. 7, 1965 A. T. ERICKSON 3,221,619

ROTATING ROLLER MACHINE Filed Sept. 2. 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

ARNEL T. ERIGKSON ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,221,619 ROTATINGROLLER MACHINE Arne] T. Erickson, Highway 22 W., Hutchinson, Minn. FiledSept. 2, 1960, Ser. No. 53,808 3 Claims. (Cl. 9450) This inventionrelates to apparatus for applying compacting or severing pressure to asurface or a work area many times as the apparatus passes over saidsurface or work area only one time. More particularly, this inventionrelates to apparatus that is moved in a given direction generallyparallel to a work area and drivingly rotates a plurality of tools aboutan axis parallel to the work area and freely permits rotation of saidtools about an axis perpendicular to the work area to apply a compactingor a severing force to the work area.

In apparatus of the prior art for compacting or applying a pressure to agiven surface, the surface is always worked over or approached fromapproximately the same direction as the apparatus makes a single passover said surface. As a result, frequently the various portions of thesurface are not compacted or worked over to the same degree. This leavessoft spots or areas that are not evenly worked. In order to overcomeproblems of the aforementioned nature this invention has been made.

An object of this invention is to provide a new and improved rotatingroller machine for applying a compact ing or severing pressure to thesame area many times while working over the surface just once. It isstill a further object of this invention to provide a new and improvedrotating roller machine that may be used with different types ofattachments in many different types of operations to apply to thesurface a working action from many different directions (angles ofapproach) as the machine is passed over the surface only once.

It is still an additional object of this invention to provide a new andimproved rotating roller machine that is readily usable in operationssuch as the construction of roads, dams, airports, and in theconstruction of buildings where pressure is needed for joining andfusing or otherwise packing the materials together, and in the upkeep ofroads, for removing snow and ice, and in properly working the ground invarious other types of activities.

It is still an additional object of this invention to provide a new andimproved rotating roller machine that will cover a given area many timesfrom varying directions and can be used for applying pressure anywherefrom a few pounds to many hundred pounds per square inch to a givenportion of the area.

0ther and further objects are those inherent in the invention hereinillustrated, described and claimed, and will be apparent as thedescription proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, this inventionthen comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularlypointed out in the claims, the following description setting forth indetail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention, these beingindicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which theprinciples of the invention may be employed.

The invention is illustrated with reference to the drawings in whichcorresponding numerals refer to the same parts, and, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a partial perspective view of a motor vehicle having thefirst embodiment of the new and improved rotating roller machine of thisinvention attached thereto;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the embodiment of the rotating roller machineillustrated in FIGURE 1 with the subframe omitted;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the first embodiment of 3,221,619 PatentedDec, 7, 1965 the rotating roller machine of this invention which has aplurality of horizontal roller attachments secured thereto, said viewbeing taken along the line and looking in the direction of the arrows 33of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a front view of a second attachment usable on the rotatingroller machine of this invention, said attachment including a pluralityof different size disks for breaking up the ground;

FIGURE 5 is a front view of a third type of an attachment usable on therotating roller machine of this invention, said attachment including aroller mounted on shafts vertically offset from one another;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a fourth type of an attachment usableon the rotating roller machine of this invention, said attachmentincluding a barbed type roller;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of a fifth type of an attachment usableon the rotating roller machine of this invention, said attachmentincluding a spiral knife roller usable for cutting various types ofmaterial;

FIGURE 8 is a plan view of a second embodiment of the rotating rollermachine of this invention;

FIGURE 9 is a cross sectional view of the second embodiment of therotating roller machine of this invention, said view being taken alongthe line and looking in the direction of the arrows 9-9 of FIGURE 8 withthe wheels of FIGURE 8 omitted to illustrate the mounting of the mainframe on the drive mechanism for absorbing the shock between said frameand drive mechanism;

FIGURE 10 is a side view of a third embodiment of this invention.

Referring now to the drawings and in particular to FIGURE 1 there isillustrated a side perspective view of a motor grader 10 having a graderframe 11 on which front and back wheels 12 and 14 are mounted. Mountedbeneath the grader frame intermediate the front and'back wheels formovement side to side and up and down by conventional mechanicallyoperated linkage mechanism, generally designated 22, is a subframe 13,it being understood that other conventionally operated linkages could beused (for example electrical or hydraulic).

The linkage mechanism 22 affording the primary control of pressureexerted on subframe 13 relative the grader frame 11 of the motor graderincludes a pair of upwardly extending links 201 that at their lower endsare respectively pivotally connected to opposite transverse sideportions of the subframe 13 by joints 202. The upper end of each link201 is pivotally connected to the outer end of the adjacent crank arm203 by a joint 204. Each crank arm in turn is keyed to one end of adriven shaft 205, there a shaft 205 on either side of the longitudinalframe memher 206 of motor grader frame 11. Each shaft is journalled toframe member 206 at said one end by a transversely extending bracket 207and has an opposite end extending into a housing 208 mounted on themotor grader frame. Suitable gears (not shown) are provided in eachhousing for rotating the respective shaft, the gears being driven bypower from the main grader engine via the respective clutch forcontrolling the drive to the shafts for selectively rotating them in thedesired direction and retaining them in the desired angular position.Since the means for driving the shafts 205 and controlling the drivethereto is conventional it is not shown and will not be fur- A motor 23is fixedly secured on the subframe 13 and drivingly connected to theupper end of the drive shaft 17 of the rotating roller machine,generally designated 15, of this invention by conventional gear means 24(said gear means being schematically illustrated). The drive shaft isjournalled for rotation in the subframe and mounted to apply adownwardly directed, controlled pressure of from a few pounds to manyhundred pounds from the subframe to the remaining portion of themachine. The drive shaft includes a universal joint 19 intermediate theupper end 17a and the lower end 17b.

The rotating roller machine 15 includes the aforementioned drive shaft17 and a roller main frame 16. Although the main frame as illustrated ishexagonal in shape, it is to be understood that it may be of anyappropriate configuration. The main frame has a central aperture 21,there being an appropriate retainer ring 18 located over said centralaperture and bolted to the main frame by a plurality of bolts 20. Thelower end of the drive shaft 17b is fixedly secured to the retainerstructure for driving the main frame and also applying pressure to themain frame when pressure is exerted by the mechanical linkage mechanism22 on the subframe.

Three vertical apertures 29 are formed in the main frame to extendtherethrough, the apertures 29 being located equal distances from thedrive shaft 17 and equal distances from one another. A bearing 30 issecured in each of the apertures for rotatably mounting the verticalshaft 27 of a ground working attachment. The attachment illustrated inFIGURE 1 is a horizontal roller attachment and is generally designated25.

The ground working attachment includes a castor frame generallydesignated 26. The castor frame includes a vertical castor shaft 27welded at its lower end to the web portion of the somewhat U-shapedcastor bracket 31. The bracket 31 includes a leg 31b formed integralwith either end of the web to extend in a downwardly and outwardlydirection relative to the castor shaft. A roller 32 is rotatably mountedon the horizontal shaft 33, the ends of the horizontal shaft beingretained in the lower ends of the legs 31b. It is to be noted that avertical plane passed through the axis of rotation of the roller 32 ishorizontally spaced from a vertical plane passed through the axis ofrotation of the castor shaft and parallel to said horizontal shaft. Thecastor shaft is rotatably secured in depending relation to the mainframe by the bearing and retainer members 28, which are secured to theframe by appropriate means such as nuts and bolts 34.

The structure of the first embodiment of this invention and an earthworking attachment usable therewith having been described, the operationthereof will now be set forth. The conventional moldboard mounting frameand moldboard are disattached from the motor grader and then rollermachine 15 is mounted on the motor grader, the machine 15 being attachedto the motor grader at 202 and 13a. Then after appropriate attachmentssuch as attachments 25 have been secured to the main frame 16, the motorgrader is driven over the surface to be worked, in, for example, thedirection of the arrow 35. At the same time the linkage mechanism 22 areoperated to apply pressure to the subframe which in turn exerts adownward pressure through the drive shaft 17 to the main frame 16. Theamount of pressure applied to the main frame depends on the ground to becompacted and may be in the order of a few pounds to many hundredpounds. At the same time as the motor grader is being driven in thedirection of the arrow 35, the motor 23 drives the gears, which in turncause the drive shaft to rotate in the direction of the arrow 36, itbeing understood that in place of the motor 23, the drive shaft may bedrivingly connected to the drive means of the motor grader by anappropriate type power take-off. The drive shaft in turn drives the mainframe to rotate in the same direction as the arrow 36.

As the main frame rotates, the ground working attachment 25 is free torotate about a vertical axis in either direction of the double arrow 37while at the same time the roller 32 is free to rotate about ahorizontal axis in either direction of the double arrow 38. Since boththe motor grader and the drive shaft are being driven, each roller 32will have a complex path of motion that includes being rotated about thehorizontal axis of the horizontal shaft 33, the vertical axis of thevertical shaft 27, the vertical axis of the drive shaft 17, and moved inforward direction as indicated by the arrow 35. The direction ofrotation of the roller about the horizontal axis 33 and the verticalaxis 27 will in large part depend upon the condition of the ground beingcompacted.

Even though the vehicle on which the rotating roller machine of thisinvention is mounted travels over a given area 39 only once, due to theprovision of a plurality of ground working attachments and the complexpath of motion of the attachments, the area is covered many times.Further, all three rollers will apply substantially the same amount ofcompacting pressure to the ground 39 over which the rollers travel sincethe universal joint 19 permits the main frame to tilt in any direction.Additionally, since the rollers are free to rotate about both the axisof the shafts 27 and the axis of the shafts 33, the area being compactedwill be approached by the rollers from many different directions. Theaforementioned factors result in the surface which is being Worked beingevenly compacted. As a result of the surface being covered a number ofdifferent times by the plurality of rollers secured to the rotary frame,a more uniform packing and a smoother surface will be obtained than byusing, for example, conventional rollers that roll back and forth acrossthe surface. That is, for example, if a conventional roller were of agiven width and the center portion of the width of the surface beingrolled included a softer center portion, the center portion would not becompacted to the same extent as the outer portions. However, with thestructure of this invention the rollers contact a given surface atdifferent times and approaching the same portion from different anglesand thus compact the center portion to the same extent as the outerportion is compacted. Since the rollers can approach an area fromsubstantially any direction and the same downward force is applied toeach of the rollers, there will not be any soft spots left intermediateadjacent hard spots.

The structure and operation of the first embodiment of the rotatingroller machine of this invention with the first type of work attachment25 mounted thereon having been described, a second type of workattachment, generally designated 40, which may be used in place of thwork attachment 25 will now be set forth (see FIGURE 5). The rollerattachment 40 includes a castor type frame 45 made up of a somewhatU-shaped castor bracket 42, a vertical shaft 41 welded at its lower endto the web portion of said bracket and rotatably securable at its upperend in the main frame by retainers 28 and bearings 30, and a roller 44.The short horizontal shaft 47 is mounted at one axial end in the roller44 offset from the central axis AA of said roller and at the other endis rotatably retained in the lower end of the short leg 46 of thebracket 42 by an appropriate bearing member 50. A short horizontal shaft49 at one end is mounted in the opposite axial end of the roller 44parallel to, but on the opposite side of the axis AA from the shaft 47.The opposite end of the shaft 49 is journaled for rotation in anappropriate bearing 51 which is mounted in the lower end of the long leg53 of the bracket 42. Thus, the axis of rotation of the shafts 47, 49are vertically offset from one another. Both shafts 47 and 49 fit veryloosely in journal apertures in the frame legs 46 and 53. Although theamount of the offset of the shafts 47, 49 in FIGURE 3 is greatlyexaggerated for purposes of illustration, it is to be understood thatthe amount of offset would depend on the amount of eccentricit that isto be imparted to the ends of roller 44 as said roller is rotated aboutthe axes of the shafts 47, 49. The axes of rotation of shafts 47, 49 arehorizontally spaced from the axis of rotation of shaft 41 similar tothat of the corresponding axes of work attachment 25.

The work attachment 40 is used with the rotating roller machine in thesame manner as the work attachment 26 and therefore it will not befurther described. The work attachment 40 is advantageously used when itis desired that the rotating roller machine be used to break up lumps asthe ground is being packed.

In place of the types of attachments 25, 40 described heretofore, athird type Work attachment generallydesrgnated 60 may be used (-seeFIGURE 4). The disk attachment 60 includes a castor type frame 64 madeof a somewhat U-shaped mountingbracket 61 having a vertical shaft 62secured to the web portion thereof. An inclined shaft 63 at its upperend is rotatably secured to the lower end of the short leg 61a and atits lower end rotatably secured to the lower end of the long leg 61b. Aplurality of disks 66-72 inclusive of successive-1y smaller diametersare mounted on said shaft and retained thereon and positioned by spacers73, 74 and 65. Of course, It is to be understood that all of the disks66-72 inclusive may be of the same diameter and the U-shaped bracket 61accordingly modified, if desired. The in-clmed disk assembly 60 may beadvantageously used to break or out, as necessary, salvage bituminousmaterials, or for breaking ice, or for breaking or cutting vegetablematerials.

In place of the types of Work attachments described heretofore, theremay be provided a fourth type of attachment, generally designated 75(see FIGURE 6), that is usable with a rotating roller machine. Thetoothed roller attachment 75 includes castor frame 76 of the sameconstruction as the castor frame 26, said frame 76 having a bracket 81and a castor shaft 77 secured to the web of the bracket. A roller 78having a plurality of spaced radially extending teeth 80 is rotatablymounted on the shaft 79. The shaft 79 at either end is attached to thelower end of the legs of the castor frame. The

tooth roller attachment may be advantageously used to loosen and breakup ice, rocks, etc. For example, in using the barbed type roller forbreaking ice, not only does the weight of the roller tend to break theice but also the barbs in contacting the ice tend to chip the we andbreak it into small pieces. As a result, considerably less power isrequired to break the ice than if a conventional blade or a smooth typeroller were used. A further advantage results since if any ice remainson a highway after the barbed type roller has been used, the barbs willleave punctures in the ice. Then after elther calcium chloride salt orsimilar material is spread on th highway, a considerable amount willsettle in the punctures rather than, for the most .part, be thrown offthe highway by the traflic passing thereof such as would occur if asmooth surface patch of ice remained such as is likely when a blade isused. It is to be understood that other shaped projecting portions maybe used in place of cutters to obtain the improved results. Once the cehas been broken up, it can readily be blown off the highway or beotherwise disposed of as will become more apparent hereinafter.

A fifth type of work attachment usable on the rotating roller machine isa spiral knife roller attachment 85 (see FIGURE 7). The attachment 85includes a castor frame 88 having a castor shaft 86 welded to the webportion of the castor mounting bracket 87, said castor frame being ofthe same construction as the castor frame 26. A roller 89 is rotatablymounted on the shaft 90 which at its either end is secured to the lowerend of a leg of a mounting bracket. A spiral knife 91 is welded to theroller 89 to extend radially outwardly therefrom, it being understoodthat a series of knives may be placed spirally around the roller inplace of the spiral knife 91. The spiral knife 6 roller attachment isadvantageously used as a chopping device for cutting up brush or smalltrees.

A second embodiment of the rotating roller machine, generally designated100, includes a main frame 101 hav ing an enlarged central aperture 102formed therein (see FIGURES 8 and 9). The central aperture along itsaxial length is concavely curved at 103. Vertical apertures of the samesize and at similar locations as the vertical apertures in the mainframe 16 are formed in the main frame 101 to have the castor shafts ofappropriate work attachments mounted therein.

The rotating roller machine includes a drive shaft 106 of the sameconstruction as the drive shaft 16. A retainer ring 107 is welded to thelower end of the drive shaft, said retainer ring in turn being bolted toa rim 108 by bolts 109. The rim is of a substantially smaller diameterthan the minimum diameter of the central aperture 102. An inflatabletire 110 is mounted on the rim to bear against the peripheral wall ofthe main frame forming the central aperture, the central aperture beingproperly contoured at 103 for mounting said tire.

In order to mount the tire in the central aperture 102, the tire would,under normal circumstances, be deflated and inserted adjacent the curvedportion 103. Next the tire is inflated to the proper pressure. Theproper pressure would in part depend upon the size of the machine, thework to be done, and the shock resulting from the machine moving underrough terrain. Thus, if a substantial amount of shock, under normalcircumstances, would be transferred to the subframe through the driveshaft, the tire would be inflated to a relatively small pressure, and asa result would absorb a great deal of the shock. However, if only aminimum amount of shock were to be encountered from the work attachmentgoing over a surface, then the tire may be inflated to greater pressure.Similarly, if a good deal of torque is required for rotating the mainframe, the tire would be inflated to a greater pressure than wouldotherwise be necessary. By using the tire 110, the main frame may bedriven from a vertically extending shaft 106, while at the same time acontrolled amount of tiltable play in the frame relative to the surfaceis permitted. By using the tire for mounting the main frame on the driveshaft, it is frequently possible to do away with providing a universaljoint since a sufficient amount of play of the frame is obtained. Anyone of the work attachments described heretofore, may be mounted on themain frame 101, or other appropriate types of tools or attachments maybe used with the main frame.

Although the various embodiments of this invention have been describedwith respect to being mounted on a motor grader, it is to be understoodthat the embodiments may be mounted on the front or in back of atractor, or on the front or back of a truck by providing an appropriateframe. However, by mounting the rotating roller machine on a motorgrader, the machine may be shifted from side to side and the pressureapplied to the machine may be readily controlled from a few pounds tomany hundreds of pounds per square inch. Further, by mounting therotating roller machine on a motor grader, it can be used very close toa building or a concrete curve.

When the various appropriate attachments of this invention are used forice removal, the ice can be broken up into small pieces and can be blownoff or picked up and loaded into the truck. This is in contrast to priorart devices wherein commonly a blade is used for scraping the ice offthe pavement. In such cases, the removing force exerted on the ice isgenerally parallel to the road and thus is not very effective inremoving thin layers of ice and leaves smooth patches of ice.

It is to be understood that the rotating roller machine such asillustrated in FIGURE 2 may be constructed on a smaller scale andadvantageously be used in rolling newly sodded areas. Also, a rotatingroller machine may 7 be constructed on an even smaller scale such asillustrated in FIGURE 10 and generally designated 120.

The third embodiment of rotating roller machine 120 includes a mainframe 121 and roller attachments 122 that may be of the sameconfiguration as the main frame 16 and attachments 25, except as tosize. A drive shaft 123 is bolted to the main frame at 124, the upperend of the drive shaft being constructed to be mounted in the chuck 125of a hand power drill 126. By properly weighting the machine and/ordrill, the machine 120 can be used in industrial and home buildingswhere linoleum or tile is to be laid. The roller 127 of the attachmentwould apply pressure to the tile or linoleum to cause said tile orlinoleum to properly adhere to the surface on which it is being laid.Also, the machine 120 can be used to obtain complete area adhering ofwall coverings of all types to the supporting surface. The rotatingroller equipment provides proper rotating action which covers all thearea quickly and produces the desired result.

From the aforegoing it is apparent that by using a main frame of theproper size and appropriate attachments attached to the main frame, thevarious embodiments of the rotating roller machine of this invention maybe used for compacting earth, breaking up bituminous materials forsalvage, loosening and breaking up ice, soil, rocks, compacted snowetc., for aerating and mulching filled materials and rolling table topsor wall surfaces that have been covered With, for example, Formica,tile, or any one of various other materials.

As many widely apparently different embodiments of this invention may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is to beunderstood that I do not limit myself to the specific embodimentsherein.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for compacting or applying pressure to a worked areacomprising a motor grader having a motor grader frame, a subframe andlinkage means connecting said subframe to the motor grader for movingsaid subframe relative to the motor grader frame, and a rotating rollermachine mounted on said motor grader, said rotating roller machineincluding a roller main frame, drive shaft means for connecting saidroller main frame to the subframe for rotation about a generallyvertical axis, said drive shaft means including a drive shaft mountedfor rotation on the subframe, said drive shaft having a universal jointtherein between the subframe and the roller main frame, and means fordriving said drive shaft, and at least one castor attachment having acastor frame piv-otally connected to the roller main frame to dependtherefrom and having a generally vertical castor axis spaced asubstantial distance from the rotary connection means of the roller mainframe to the subframe, said castor frame having generally horizontalroller axis spaced from the castor axis and a revolving ground engagingimplement mounted for rotation on the roller axis.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further characterized in that there isprovided means for operating said linkage means to apply a pressure inthe range of a few pounds to many hundreds of pounds to said subframe tothereby apply said pressure to the roller main frame.

3. A rotating roller machine comprising a generally horizontal rollerframe having large central apertures formed therein, a drive shaft,means for securing the drive shaft to the central portion of the rollermain frame to extend upwardly therefrom, said securing means including arim attached to the drive shaft and an inflatable tire mounted on therim so as to be driven thereby, said central aperture being contoured totightly receive the periphery of said tire in an inflated condition, aplurality of vertical shafts rotatably secured to said roller main frameto depend therefrom and located equal radial distances from the centralaxis of said drive shaft and at equal angular increments around thedrive shafts axis, a mounting bracket secured to the lower end of eachof the drive shafts to depend therefrom and means rotatably secured tothe mounting bracket to have a horizontal axis of rotation for applyingpressure to the surface being Worked, said horizontal axis being spacedfrom the axis of the vertical shafts.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 723,896 3/1903Moore 9450 1,164,237 12/1915 Hornsby 9450 1,431,099 10/1922 Dann 9450 X2,197,549 4/1940 Hargrave 172554 2,223,213 11/1940 Kersten 37422,243,251 5/ 1941 Gustafson 9450 2,256,570 9/1941 Kopczynski 9450 X2,261,893 11/1941 Wolfard 9450 2,419,308 4/1947 Austin 9450 X 2,646,7307/1953 Vig 9450 2,704,968 3/1955 Paramythioti 94-50 2,898,826 8/1959Livermont 9445 2,917,979 12/1959 Dening 94-45 JACOB L. NACKENOFF,Primary Examiner.

1. APPARATUS FOR COMPACTING OR APPLYING PRESSURE TO A WORKED AREACOMPRISING A MOTOR GRADER HAVING A MOTOR GRADE FRAME, A SUBFRAME ANDLINKAGE MEANS CONNECTING SAID SUBFRAME TO THE MOTOR GRADER OR MOVINGSAID SUBFRAME RELATIVE TO THE MOTOR GRADER FRAME, AND A ROTATING ROLLERMACHINE MOUNTED ON SAID MOTOR GRADER, SAID ROTATING ROLLER MACHINEINCLUDING A ROLLER MAIN FRAME, DRIVE SHAFT MEANS FOR CONNECTING SAIDROLLER MAIN FRAME TO THE SUBFRAME FOR ROTATION ABOUT A GENERALLYVERTICAL AXIS, SAID DRIVE SHAFT MEANS INCLUDING A DRIVE SHAFT MOUNTEDFOR ROTATION ON THE SUBFRAME, SAID DRIVE SHAFT HAVING A UNIVERSAL JOINTTHEREIN BETWEEN THE SUBFRAME AND THE ROLLER MAIN FRAME, AND MEANS FORDRIVING SAID DRIVE SHAFT, AND AT LEAST ONE CASTOR ATTACHMENT HAVING ACASTOR FRAME PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO THE ROLLER MAIN FRAME TO DEPENDTHEREFROM AND HAVING A GENERALLY VERTICAL CASTOR AXIS SPACED ASUBSTANTIAL DISTANCE FROM THE ROTARY CONNECTION MEANS OF THE ROLLER MAINFRAME TO THE SUBFRAME, SAID CASTOR FRAME HAVING GENERALLY HORIZONTALROLLER AXIS SPACED FROM THE CASTOR AXIS AND A REVOLVING GROUND ENGAGINGIMPLEMENT MOUNTED FOR ROTATION ON THE ROLLER AXIS.